Method of making composite metal stock



Aprrfil 2%, MEG. M, R TREMBOUR ZAWWIMO METHOD OF MAKING COMPOSITE METAL STOCK Original Filed April 14, 1933 wmassss W1, 5 1 f 61x), o M 252K W -24 ATTORNEYS.

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hill, dill oi ll erinoylvonin @ontinuotion oil opplicution Serial No. iltifihlldil,

April lid, 1935i,

epplicetion "it 1934i, Serial No. l mit??? litdlldlndsu (lllodd lllllll Iihis invention relntes to the rnenuiecture oi bimetallic flat section steel hers rind tools cornposed of a, body of relutiveli cheep steel having welded in one corner thereof on insert oi as herder,

5 or speciol, steel.

Sheer hledes, runchine knives, end the lilre tools mode from tool steels, for example, irons high or icon steels, plaiin or alloyed, or highly olloyed heart or weer-resisting steels, such as higl'ospeed w stool esrhonshigii chrondmn steels, the lilre. in most tools o s type only the cutting edge needs to he hti res tont to weer, e., one of the torn corners o he tool. accuse this end uecouse the specicl steels used g'enerolly re. expensive would economically odvent eous to o' c only the re" ired smell proportion of ti total or so the uch composite stool; con not he mode by the pressure welding procedures commonly used with plain cor-hon steels, experience has shown thet special end highly alloyed steels can not he welded thereby. in o copending application iiled try me on February ll, lilllll, Serial diilflld, i have disclosed end. claimed it method of melting bimetallic stock which is predicated upon my discovery that setisiectory pressure welding of common to special steels can he occornplished readily hy wholly enclosing special steel within the conrirnon steel neer corner or end oi? n coru= posite ingot formed oi the two steels, "inns, eccordlng to that process hair or piste oi the special steel, having its surfaces carefully cleaned, is supported neor n corner oi o, mold but out or contact therewith, end mild steel is cost in the mold to totolly envelop the insert. The ingot is hot rolled without hreolring'the envelope oi mild steel, whereby welding occurs, end the billet is then rolled to shops end she The process just described is oenerolly usei'ul, hut it is particularly suited for the production oi y certain her shapes, such es eutomohile hotly die stools, whose speclei metal inserts are oi sum or lightly elloyed high corhon steels. The unsyrometricei distribution oi" the inserts in the ingot section they, however, ceuse certoin operating dliliculties in the cuse oi speciol steels whose ductility is markedly diiierent from that oi the body metal ot rolling temperatures.

The mejor object of this invention is to provide or method of producing loimetslllc tool stoclr which overcomes or our the disedvontoges reierred to, is reodily practiced, productive oi o vention; Fig. l e view oi e en insert orrensed tl'iereiri; Fig tudinsl sectioned views throug t e "poll shown in l, tedren on the lines VIP spectively, oi on intro ruled in i to ii end plot to cross sectioned view through tour.

posits stool; produced .Jom the plot es shown ii Fig. 12; it view similar to iii-showing; the product ohteined hy the use oi the shown in Figs. 3 end l igi l5 s view similar to Figs. 13 end oi the product olotoined irons the insert of Figs. 1 end 2; end it? or cross section oi an insert showing a still further modiiicetion oi the inventi n This invention is predicated upon mydiscovery that flat section composite tool stool; oi the type referred to can he produced readily and cheaply iroin ingots comprising o body of cheap steel hov ins wholly enclosed therein, or plurality oi inserts of special steel arranged symmetrically relative to the ingot section on opposite sides oi end od decent to a, lover of weld-preventing moterim which forms e pit-inc dividing; the ingot interiorly into hoives;

The invention is predicated further on discovery that the required positioning of the hers of special steel and the necessary internal division of the ingot into seporohle complenrientory holves may be had by the use oi o special type of insert.

in accordance with the invention the inserts are built up from two groups oi hers, or plates, of cheap steel and of special steel. The bars in each group are disposed side by side, end the special steel bars are arranged so thot the groups are complementary and the special steel he twe'groups are placed back to back with a layer of weld-preventing material separating them, and they ,are fastened together to form the insert. The outer iaces'of the special steel bars, and their sides adjacent the laterally positioned cheap steel bars are cleaned to put them in 'weldable condition. The inserts are made oi. such'width that their edges will lie close to, but out of contact with, the sides of the mold, whereby the ingot will be divided almost from side to side by the weld-preventing material.

The insert is supported in a suitable mold, out of contact therewith, and so as to divide it into halves, and cheap steel is cast into it to completely enclose the insert. This forms a composite ingot in which the'insert is wholly surrounded by an envelope of cheap steel.

The ingot is then hot rolled between ordinary cylindrical rolls to effect welding between the inserts and body metal and to form a plate approximately twice the thickness of the desired stock, and upon removing the marginal edges of mild steel to expose the dividing plane referred to, the plate is separated to form stock of thethickness desired and having permanently welded thereto an insert of special, or tool, steel. In some embodiments of the invention, such as those shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 14 to 16, the stock is produced directly with the special metal welded to a comer, or edge of the cheap body metal. In other embodiments, e. g., as shown in Figs. 5 to 12, the plates obtained on parting the rolled material, as 'just described, are cut longitudinally through the insert to obtain stock with the special metal welded in a corner, as seen in Fig. 13.

Thus the special type of insert used provides for production of a plurality of pieces 0! stock from an ingot,'and for ready parting of the rolled plate. Any difliculty which might otherwise occur from differences in ductility of the two metals at rolling temperatures is obviated by the symmetrical arrangement of the special steel, which avoids unequal stresses.

. Having reference now to the drawing, Fi s. 1

and 2 show. an insert suitable for use in the practice of the invention. It comprises two complementary groups of bars I of tool steel and bars 2 of mild steel." In each group there is a tool steel bar I and a bar 2 of mild steel. The groups are disposed back to back with bars I arranged to be symmetrical to the ingot'section, as shown in i Fig. 1, and the groups are fastened fixedly together in any suitable manner to produce the composite ingot.

In order to permit the ingot to be parted after rolling it is necessary that means be provided to act as an unweldable dividing plane between the groups. To this end the two groups of bars I and 2 are separated bya layer For weld-preventing material. This may be formed in various I ways lmown to the art, as by coating the inner face of either or both of the groups of bars with a suitable material, such as magnesia, or some just indicated, this may be done in various ways, i

but it is preferred to weld the bars of each group,

other inert oxide, mixed with a suitable binder,

disposed symmetrically in the ingot section. The welding may be continuous along the edges of v the bars and groups, but for most purposes it sufiices to weld at intervals by deposition of metal by an are or torch welding apparatus, the welded spots of deposited metal being indicated at 3, Figs. 1 and 2.

The inserts may be made up in a variety of other ways, as will be understood. For example, instead of using two bars of tool steel and four of mild steel, the insert may comprise four bars of tool steel 4 and two of mild steel 5, Figs. 3 and 4, arranged in two complementary groups connected together with an intervening unweldable dividing plane P. In this case the mild steel bars lie centrally in the groups.

Another mode of fastening the insert components is shown in connection with this embodiment. After the bars are assembled in groups and the groups placed back to back with the layer P between them, they are clamped together with straps 6 connected by bolts or rivets 1, these being suitably of the cheap metal used in casting the ingot.

Still another embddiment oi insert is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. This comprises two complementary groups disposedv on opposite sides of an unweldable plane P, each being formed of two mild steel bars 8 and a tool steel bar 9. In this embodiment the tool steel bars lie centrally in the groups, and each is flanked on each side by a mild steel bar 8. The groups are welded in spot fashion as described hereinabove, and as indicated at I 0.

The composite insert, such as that of Figs. 5 and 6, is then supported in an ingot mold II in such position as to divide the mold into rectangular halves, and so that mild steel may be cast around it, as shown in Figs. 7 to 9 In order to reduce the amount of mild steel that must be cropped off after rolling, to expose the dividing plane, it is preferred to make the insert as wide as possible while maintaining its edges out of contact with the mold walls, so that the dividing plane extends almost from edge to edge of the ingot. 1 Satisfactory results may be obtained by the use of inserts whose width is from about ya to that its top will be covered with a substantial section of mild steel when the ingot is cast. If desired, the top of the insert may be held in position by wedges I 3, and if desirable these may be removed as the body of cast metal moves toward the top of the insert. The insert shown in Figs. 7 to 9 is the embodiment shown and described in connection with Figs. 5 and 6, but it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, this being purely for purposes of description.

Mild steel I4 is then cast'into the mold to entirely envelop the insert and form a composite ingot. The mold shown is adapted for bottom casting, although the metal may be cast from the top, if desired, without aflecting the character of the invention.

There is thus produced a composite ingot which is divided internally by an unweldable dividing plane into similar parts each having embedded therein an insert of tool steel which is to be weldand also the two groups. to make the insert. The ed. to the body 01' mild steel. Experience has 7 shown that little, if any, welding takes place between the cast mild steel and the tool steel bars in the casting operation. This may be shown by sectioning an ingot as cast and before rolling. It will be found that the mild steel is not welded to the insert, and that, for the most part, it is not even in contact therewith, as indicated at it, Fig. 10. i

If it is attempted to pressure weld bars of mild steel and special steels of the type contemplated herein by heating them to welding temperature and passing them between rolls, no satisfactory or permanent weld can be formed. This is true no matter how carefully the surfaces of the bars be cleaned before rolling. For this reason it has been thought that such combinations of steels are not susceptible of pressure welding.

The present invention is predicated in part upon my discovery that these materials can be pressure welded provided the surfaces of the tool steel bar which are to be welded are preliminarily placed in clean metallic, or weldable, condition, and provided further that access of air and other oxidizing gases to the surfaces to be Welded be entirely prevented during the pressure welding operation. This is the .purpose of completely enclosing the insert within a continuous envelope of the body metal. Thereby all access of oxidizing gases is prevented, and even though no welding whatever takes place in the casting operation, and even though the two metals are not in complete contact in the ingot as cast, as described hereinabove, satisfactory, complete and permanent welding occurs when the ingot is rolled, provided the continuity of the envelope be maintained until welding is complete.

The surfaces of the tool steel bars which are to be welded to the body of mild steel, i. e., the sides of bars l, 5 and ll and the faces opposite those covered with weld-preventing material, are carefully and thoroughly cleaned prior to casting the ingot. This may be done by pickling or sandblasting the bar, or in other ways which remove the scale, grease, dirt, and the like. Where pickling is used the bars should be dried carefully and so as to avoid oxidation. The bars of mild steel are also cleaned in similar manner. Usually it will be desirable to anneal the tool steel bars prior to assembling the inserts.

The ingot thus prepared is then hot rolled to effect welding, by passing it between horizontal rolls with the dividing plane parallel to the axis of the rolls, so that maximum pressure is applied to the major faces which are to be welded, i. e., in the direction of the arrows, Fig. 10. The rolling should be conducted so as to effect only elongation of the ingot, with a relatively small amount of spreading, which can be done in ways known to the art. There is no particular advantage in edging, which may, in fact, lead to certain difficulties, and for this reason no edging passes are required during the rolling operation. The rolling operation is continued to form a plate it, Fig. 11, approximately twice the thickness of the final stock.

The temperature of rolling should not be lower, but need not be higher, than that suitable for the rolling of plates of the special metal used in the insert. As a rule this temperature will be considerably lower than the so-called welding temperatures, particularly for special metal inserts of high carbon "content. The best temperature is the lowest at which the ductility of the hard steel approaches that of the soft steel.

- been welded to the adjacent cast mild steel and to each other, and since bars h were of the same composition as cast mild steel i l the dividing lines therebetween (Fig. 10) have disappeared. The plate is divided by plane P into two complementary parts each comprising a homogeneous body portion of mild steel Hi and an insert 9 of tool steel completely welded thereto. The marginal portions of the plates are then removed, for example, by cutting or shearing along lines XX, Fig. 11, to expose the dividing plane P, whereupon the plate may be readily parted into two plates ll, Fig. 12. Each of these is approximately the thickness of the stock desired. Upon cutting these plates longitudinally through the center of the insert along line YY, Fig. 12, there are thus formed four lengths of flat section bimetallic stock, Fig. 13, each consisting of a body portion it of mild steel having an insert id of tool steel welded to one corner thereof.

The treatment in the case of other types of insert is like that just described. For instance, the insert shown in Figs. 3 and 4 produces a pair of plates shown in Fig. 14. In this case the plates are out along their center Z-Z to form four lengths of stock 2% similar to those shown in Fig. 13.

The insert shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is particularly adapted to the production of larger plates. This produces two plates 2i, Fig. 15, each having an insert welded in one corner, and is adapted for the production of larger shear knives and the like than the stock shown in Figs. 13 and 14.

I have found also that in some instances it may be preferable to use a separate sheet or plate to form the dividing plane instead of, or in addition to, applying a weld-preventing coating to the inner surfaces of the insert plates, as described hereinabove. This embodiment prefer.- ably takes the form of a sheet 23, Fig. 16, of ordinary steel interposed between the two groups M; of the insert and having both. of its surfaces covered with a weld-preventing coating 25, such as an inert oxide, as described hereinabove. Or, the surfaces of the sheet may be oxidized by heat, to produce a tightly adherent and uniform layer of scale which forms a very satisfactory weld preventative. This is less apt to spall oil and to result in welded spots than where artificially applied weld preventatives are used. Where the ingot is to be subjected to a considerable amount of reduction, and consequently where the amount of weld-preventing material per unit of area of contact surface may ultimately become very slight, there is danger, particularly in the case of easily weldable steels, that the film of weld-preventing'material may be broken during rolling,

resulting in welding at some spots. For this reason the use of this modified embodiment is will permit parting of the rolled product.

Mild steel has been referred to herein as the preferred example of the cheap body metal used in the practice of this invention, and the harder special steels have been designated as tool steel. These terms are used also in the claims, but it will be understood that as used herein and in the claims they are intended generically to include cheap steels and harder special steels applicable to the purposes of the invention.

This application is a continuation of my copending application Serial No. 666,189, filed April 14, 1933.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. In a method of manufacturing fiat bimetallic tool stock composed of a body of mild steel having an insert of tool steel welded to one corner'thereof, the step comprising forming a composite ingot by casting mild steel entirely around a composite insert comprising two groups of mild steel bars and tool steel bars connected together in fixed back-to-back relation with a layer of weld-preventing material therebetween, each group comprising a central bar of tool steel and two bars of mild steel positioned longitudinally one on each side of the tool steel bar with its longitudinal edge contacting the adjacent edge of said tool steel bar.

2. In a method of manufacturing fiat bi-metalllc tool stock composed of a body of mild steel having an insert of tool steel welded to one corner thereof, the step comprising forming a composite ingot by casting mild steel around a composite insert comprising two groups of mild steel and tool steel bars connected in fixed back-toback relation with a layer of weld-preventing material between the groups, said groups being complementary and the bars in each group being disposed longitudinally side by side in a common vertical plane.

3. In a method of manufacturing fiat bi-metallic tool stock composed of a body of mild steel having an insert of tool steel welded to one corner thereof, the step comprising forming a composite ingot by casting mild steel around a composite insert comprising two groups of mild steel and tool steel bars connected in fixed back-toback relation with a layer of weld-preventing material between the groups, the bars in each group being disposed longitudinally side by side in a common vertical plane, and the tool steel bars being positioned in the groups to lie symmetrically in the ingot section.

4. In a method of manufacturing flat bi-metallic tool stock composed of a body of mild steel having an insert of tool steel welded to one corner thereof, the step comprising forming a composite ingot by casting mild steel around a composite insert comprising two groups of mild steel and tool steel bars, the bars in each group being disposed longitudinally side by side in a common vertical plane, the bars in each group being welded together along their contiguous edges, and the groups being connected in fixed back-to-back relation with a layer of weld-preventing material between the groups.

5. In a method of manufacturing flat bl-metallic tool stock composed of a body of mild steel having an insert of tool steel welded to one corner thereof, the steps comprising disposing in an ingot mold a composite insert positioned to divide the ingot into halves, said insert comprising two groups of mild steel and tool steel bars connected in fixed back-to-back relation with a layer of weld-preventing material between the groups, said groups being complementary and the bars in each group being disposed longitudinally side by side in a common vertical plane, casting mild steel around said insert to completely encloseit, and working the ingot.

6. In a method of manufacturing bi-metallic tool stock composed of a body of mild steel having an insert of tool steel welded to one corner thereof, the steps comprising forming a composite ingot by casting mild steel entirely around a composite insert positioned to divide the ingot into halves, theinsert comprising two complementary groups of mild steel and tool steel bars connected in fixed back-to-back relation with a layer of weld-preventing material between the groups, the bars in each group being disposed longitudinally side by side in a common vertical plane, and hot rolling the ingot between cylindrical rolls with said layer parallel to the roll axes.

7. In a method of manufacturing flat bi-metallic tool stock composed of a body of mild steel having an insert of tool steel welded to one.

corner thereof, the steps comprising forming a composite ingot by casting mild steel around a composite insert comprising two complementary groups of 'mild steel and tool steel bars connected in fixed back-to-back relation with a layer of weld-preventing material between the groups, the bars in each group being disposed longitudinally side by side in a common vertical plane with the tool steel bars disposed symmetrically in the ingot section, the exterior surfaces of said insert being in clean weldable condition prior to said casting, hot rolling the ingot to effect welding between the insert and the body of mild steel and to form a plate approximately twice as thick as that of the desired fiat stock, removing marginal metal from the plate to expose said weldpreventing material, and parting the plate along said plane.

8. That method of making flat tool stock composed of a body of mild steel having at one corner a welded insert of tool steel, comprising supporting in an ingot mold an insert comprising a plurality of mild steel and tool steel bars disposed in two complementary groups, the bars in each group being disposed longitudinally side by side in a common vertical plane with the edges of the bars in a group in contact, groups of the insert being fastened together in fixed back-toback relation with a layer of weld-preventing material completely separating the groups, the remaining surfaces of the bars being in weldable condition, casting mild steel around the insert to form a composite ingot, hot rolling the ingot with said layer parallel to the roll axes to effect welding between the insert and the body of mild steel and to form a plate approximately twice as thick as the thickness of the flat stock, removing marginal metal from the plate to expose the said weld-preventing material, and parting the plate along said plane. 7

9. That method of making flat tool stock composed of a body of mild steel having at one corner a welded insert of tool steel, comprising supporting in an ingot mold an insert comprising a plurality of mild steel and tool steel bars disposed in two complementary groups, the bars in each group being disposed vertically side by side in a common vertical plane, the groups of the insert being fastened together in fixed back-t0- back relation with a layer of weld-preventing material completely separating the groups, the remaining surfaces of the bars being in weldable condition, casting mild steel around the insert to form a composite ingot, hot rolling the ingot to elongate it, with substantially no spreading, to form a plate approximately twice as thick as the thickness of the flat stock, removing marginal metal from the plate to expose the said weldpreventing material, and parting the plate along said plane.

10. That method of making flat tool stock composed of a body of mild steel having at one corner a welded insert of tool steel, comprising supporting in an ingot mold to divide it into halves an insert comprising a plurality of mild steel and tool steel bars disposed in two complementary groups with the tool steel bars symmetrically in the ingot section, the bars in each group being disposed longitudinally side by side in a common vertical plane, the groups of the insert being fastened together in fixed back-to-back relation With a layer of weld-preventing material completely separating the groups, the remaining surfaces of the bars being in Weldable condition, casting mild steel around the insert to form a composite ingot, rolling the ingot, with substantially no spreading, to form a plate approximately twice as thick as the thickness of the flat stock, removing marginal metal from the plate to expose the said weld-preventing material, and parting the plate along said plane.

11. The method of making flat tool stool; composed of a body of mild steel having at one corner a welded insert of tool steel, comprising arranging tool steel bars and mild steel bars to form two complementary groups each compris ingmild steel and tool steel bars disposed longitudinally side by side in a common vertical plane with their edges in contact and with the tool steel bars arranged to be symmetrical to the ingot section, positioning the groups on opposite sides of a plate of steel coated on both faces with weld-preventing material and connecting the groups together in fixed back-to-back relation, the outer surface of the insert being in clean weldable condition, supporting the insert in an ingot mold out of contact therewith, casting mild steel around the insert to completely envelop it and form a composite ingot, hot rolling the ingot to elongate it and form a plate, removing marginal metal from the plate to expose said weldpreventing material, and parting the rolled plate along the plane formed by said weld-preventing material.

12. The method of making flat tool stock composed of a body of mild steel having at one corner a welded insert of tool steel, comprising arranging tool steel bars and mild steel bars to form two complementary groups each comprising mild steel and tool steel bars disposed longitudinally side by side in a common vertical plane, positioning the groups on opposite sides of a plate of steel coated on both faces with weldpreventing material and connecting the groups together in fixed back-to-back relation, supporting the insert in an ingot mold out of contact therewith to divide it into halves, casting mild steel around the insert to completely envelop it and form a composite ingot, hot rolling the ingot with said coated plate parallel to the roll axes to elongate it and form a rolled plate, removing marginal metal from the rolled plate to expose said weld-preventing material, and parting the rolled plate along the plane formed by said weldpreventing material. l

, MAX R. TREMBOUR. 

